ACTUALITE |
30.07.2001
Cameroon - African champions
It is an open secret that Cameroon`s footballers have played no small part in Africa being allocated five places at the World Cup finals.
The Indomitable Lions still hold the distinction of being the best African performers at the World Cup finals.
They enchanted the football world with their quarter-final appearance during the 1990 tournament in Italy, eventually losing a nail-biter against England.
For all their successes, the African champions have also managed to build themselves a somewhat dubious reputation over the years.
Chaotic administration and the constant hiring and firing of coaches have characterised Cameroonian football in the last two decades.
However, this is the fifth time Cameroon have qualified for the World Cup finals - an African record.
History
But as in their last two appearances, their outing in Japan and South Korea is likely to be as unpredictable as ever.
At their first World Cup finals, held in Spain in 1982, Cameroon became the first team in history to be eliminated without losing a match.
Eight years later, they went to Italy and offered solid proof of the progress of African football with some stunning performances.
The world watched as they beat defending champions, Argentina, on their way to the quarter-finals.
They narrowly lost 3-2 to England in one of the most memorable games of Italia `90.
Financial wrangles
Seven years ago in the United States, Cameroon promised a lot but finished bottom of their group and crashed out amid money squabbles.
Political and financial wrangles may have often plagued the Indomitable Lions, but there is no point in denying that they are endowed with talent.
Over the years they have produced legends such as Roger Milla, Jean-Manga Onguene and Theophile Abega.
Last year Patrick Mboma, an outstanding forward who plays for Parma in Italy, was voted African Football of the Year.
That came hot on the heels of gold-medal success in Sydney and their third African Nations Cup title.
In 1999 Cameroon`s Sydney Olympic heroes had been crowned the All-African Games kings in Johannesburg.
The early stages of the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign were fairly straightforward for Cameroon.
Resigned
The only real spanner in the works came via a 2-0 home defeat by Angola.
A series of below-par displays saw coach Jean-Paul Akono coming under heavy criticism and he later resigned.
Pierre Lechantre took the reigns of power and finally, on July 1, Cameroon let out an almighty roar of triumph when they booked their place in next year`s finals after beating Togo 2-0 in Yaounde.
Cameroon have the potential to do well in Japan and Korea but the quality of their preparations over the next few months remains the biggest question.
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